The Walking Dead’s premiere episode ended with Rick trapped inside a tank that is surrounded by hoards of zombies, hearing a voice over the tank’s radio system teasing him for his stupidity. This week in ‘Guts’ we got to put a face to that voice as Rick encounters Glenn (Steven Yeun), a young scavenger who ends up being his sidekick for most of the episode.
Yeun is great as Glenn and gets to deliver many of the episode’s best lines. He quickly establishes his character to be smart and a skilled survivor. We learn that he has come into the city to scavenge supplies on several occasions in the past, but this time he has come with a group. Guiding Rick through several back alleys and across rooftops, the pair find themselves trapped in a department store that has been surrounded by zombies and face-to-face with the rest of the group of scavengers.
Of the other members of the group, the strongest impression is made by Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), an aggressive, hateful man who attempts to assert control over the small group. We quickly learn that he is a racist, sexist bully who seems to be reveling in the collapse of order around him but I found the manner in which this emerges to be puzzling.
If Merle has behaved as recklessly as he does in his episode before then why would the group take him along with them on such a dangerous mission? If he hasn’t, then why would he only choose to start bullying others when he is in a seemingly inescapable life-or-death situation? It feels clumsy and self-conscious, happening at that moment simply so that Rick can witness it and confront him. Right now Merle is little more than a cartoon of a man – if we are to see him again (in human form) in future episodes then I hope he becomes more grounded in reality.
We spend less time with the other members of the group so they make much less of an impression. For the most part they are there to look frightened and, at one point, disgusted. Of the set though Andrea has the most to do as she ponders which of the old rules still apply in their new, zombie-infested world and briefly mentions her sister back at base camp.
Rick spends most of this episode working to get this group of survivors safely out of the department store and he accomplishes this in a pretty ingenious way. One of the most pleasing aspects of the show so far has been the logical and thoughtful way in which it resolves its problems rather than resolving them with chance. Here it provides one of the best and most gruesome moments in the show to date (if you have seen the episode, you know what I am referring to, and if you haven’t I have no wish to spoil you!).
Similarly, I love the way in which the show’s excellent sound design is used to hint at a complication that the characters are not expecting in executing their escape plan.
As in the first episode, at times we get to spend a few minutes with the group of survivors back at the base camp but for the most part these scenes tell us little about them. One early scene reminds us that Rick’s wife, who believes him to be dead, is sleeping with his best friend but other than confirming that the pair have a physical relationship it seems like an excuse for a cheap scare and to remind us that her reunion with Rick might be an awkward one. While I understand that this will be important to some viewers, I still think it would have been more compelling if we learned this at the same time Rick does.
Similarly, I do not understand the writers’ logic in ending this episode by revealing what has happened to another character that has been separated from the main group. This revelation allows the episode to end with another memorable image but it also drains the ending of its tension. Had it simply ended with the question a character asks Rick about that character’s fate I suspect those viewers who had not read the comics would have spend the week wondering what had happened to the character.
‘Guts’ does not quite match the first installment of The Walking Dead for sheer excitement or thrills but it moves things along, introduces us to several important characters and contains one memorably gruesome set piece. Crucially it retains the sense of menace and tension from the first episode and establishes a pace that future episodes should be able to keep to.
Speaking of future episodes, next week will see Rick arrive at base camp and seeing his wife and son for the first time. Excited to see what happens? I know I am!
– Aidan Brack
